St. Pete Beach – Mad Fish

So I know I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks – but it’s kind of hard to blog when you’re basking in the sun, jet-skiing, and drinking rum runners all day. Nick and I spent four glorious days in St. Pete Beach, FL for the wedding of one of Nick’s friends, and some much needed R&R. After a quick canceled-flight debacle, we landed safely in paradise.

Isn’t it just dreamy? The Sirata Beach Resort was so nice, and our room had an ocean view! We spent hours walking the beach, laying by the pool, and eating some great meals! I got my fill of grits and cheese grits (like gluten free hot porridge mixed with cheese soup).

The best meal by far was at Mad Fish – a really cool upscale seafood restaurant in a converted diner car. This place had a really cool vibe – and it was nice to have some alone time with Nick. And by alone time, I mean I shared him with this giant leaning tower of Pisa of donut onion rings. Wait, let me repeat myself… DONUT ONION RINGS. Like your traditional onion ring, but dunked in a donut batter, fried to a crisp, dusted with powdered sugar, and dipped in ketchup. Nick was raving about these all weekend, telling everyone from his sister to the towncar driver about how mind-blowingly, gluteny-good they were. One of those times that I wish I could just get rid of this pesky allergy…

In case you need a visual…

Man vs. Food

I, on the other hand, sat through the waitress bringing out one round of buttered bread that smelled amazing (Nick said it tasted like Pizza Hut?). Then another round of these onion rings. So by the time my meal got to the table I was ready to dig in. Good thing the portion was GIGONDO!

I had wanted to try grouper, since it’s a specialty of the region – so I got the grouper and Gulf shrimp in tomato and caper sauce, with garlic risotto. Mmm….

Gulf shrimp and grouper over garlic risotto

That giant white snowball on top? That’s parmesan cheese. The grouper was really flavorful and moist, and the shrimp were extra fresh. I could only eat about a third of this, but it was worth every penny.

We also heard that the breakfast at Mad Fish is great too. It’s definitely a must-go if you’re in the area.